Samuel Orr, whose demise occurred December 27, 1875, was actively and successfully identified with agricultural interests in Clay township for a number of years. He was born in Ireland in 1831, his parents being Joseph and Agnes (Erskine) Orr, who spent their entire lives in that country. In the year 1853, when a young man of twenty-two, Samuel Orr crossed the Atlantic to the United States, taking up his abode in Connecticut. In that state he wedded Miss Sarah Orr, a native of Ireland, who made the ocean voyage to this country in company with her sister. At the time of the Civil war Mr. Orr enlisted for service in the union army as a member of the Thirty-seventh Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, participating in the battle of Gettysburg. The year 1867 witnessed his arrival in Clay township, Jones county, Iowa, and here he purchased land and followed farming throughout the remainder of his life. He, passed away December 27, 1875, in the faith of the Presbyterian church, and his loss was the occasion of deep and widespread regret, for he was recognized as a most upright, honorable and respected citizen.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Orr were born nine children, six of whom yet survive. The mother is still living and resides on the old home farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Clay township, which is now being operated by a renter. She is a valued and devoted member of the Presbyterian church, in the work of which she takes an active and helpful interest. She is widely known in Jones county, where she has now lived for more than forty years, and throughout this entire period she has enjoyed the respect and esteem of those with whom she has come in contact, while her good deeds have closely endeared her to many.